In this essay I will try to show similarities and differences between English and Serbo-Croatian, and to find out how it is possible, that this two languages, the one spoken in Northern Europe, the other in South-Eastern Europe, could have a common "ancestress". First I will give a survey about the historical development of the young science of linguistics in general - from the first so-called ´grammarians` in the antiquity up to nowadays linguistic theories, advanced by some famous linguists. Here I will mention names of persons, who left some important ideas for the following generation of linguists, especially for the comparative Indo-European studies. Then I will describe the origin of the Germanic and the Slavic language groups. This will be followed by a few words about the origin especially of English and Serbo-Croatian, and further by a description of the characteristics of the Standard forms. After some explanations about the pronunciation, the phonology, the morphology and the basic word formation and grammer patterns, I will sum up, if there are etymological connections between nowadays English and Serbo-Croatian.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. LINGUISTICS BEFORE THE 19TH CENTURY
1.1. Antiquity
1.2. The Middle Ages
1.3. The Renaissance
2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN STUDIES
2.1. The predecessors
2.1.1. Sir William Jones
2.1.2. Friedrich and August Schlegel
2.1.3. Wilhelm von Humboldt
2.1.4 Rasmus Rask
2.1.5. Franz Bopp
2:1:6: Jakob Grimm
2.1.7. Karl Verner
2.1.8 August Schleicher
2.1.9. Johannes Schmidt
2.1.9. Friedrich Karl Brugmann
2.1.10. Berthold Delbrück
3. THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
3.1. Proto-Indo-European
3.2 Basic steps in the comparative method
3.3. Criticisms of the comparative method
4. CLASSIFICATION OF THE SELECTED INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES
4.1. The Germanic languages
4.1.1 English
4.2. The Slavic languages
4.2.1 Serbo-Croatian
5. A COMPARISON OF ENGLISH AND SERBO-CROATIAN
5.1. Phonetics and Pronunciation
5.2. Phonology
5.3. Morphology
5.4. Word formation and Syntax
5.4.1 Elements of word formation
5.4.2. Grammar
6. LINGUSITICS IN THE 20TH CENTURY
6.1. Structuralism and Ferdinand de Saussure
6.2. Noam Chomsky
Objectives and Topics
The main objective of this study is to explore the linguistic relationships between Germanic and Slavic languages, focusing specifically on the historical evolution, phonetic characteristics, and morphological structures of English and Serbo-Croatian.
- Historical survey of Indo-European linguistics from antiquity to the 20th century.
- Methodological analysis of the comparative method and sound reconstruction.
- Comparative classification of Germanic and Slavic language groups.
- Deep dive into the phonetics, phonology, and morphology of English and Serbo-Croatian.
- Investigation into syntactic and word formation patterns in both languages.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1. Antiquity
The Greek grammarians Dionysus Thrax (1st century BC) and Apollonius Dyskolos (2nd century BC) occupied themselves exclusively with the study of their own mother tongue. Other languages at this time were not worth to be mentioned because they were spoken by so called ´Barbarians` – whose way of life was absolute contrary to the highly developed Greek culture. The Romans who had the same high standard of living looked up to the Greek culture and were engaged in studying the differences and similarities of Greek and Latin. Because of obvious similarities like for example the fact that both are inflectional languages – that means that they have the same declination system and the same or similar endings for nouns and verbs (congruity rule). Besides that the literary culture of the Greek was older and more developed than that of the Roman Empire. So Roman grammarians went to conclusion that Latin must have its origin in the Greek language.
Marcus Terencius Varro (116-23 BC) a politician and famous roman grammarian who wrote the mammoth “De lingua latina” was not so convinced in this theory. He thought about the phenomenon of language change inside the Latin itself. After a time, influenced by different historical circumstances, words change their semantic meaning or change their spelling. For example Varro found a sun-dial with the inscription “medidies”, what remembers him on the adjective “medius” (engl.:middle ). He knew that the word “meridies” (engl.:“midday”) derives from older “medidies”, but he was not able to explain the change from ´d` to ´r` - that later would be called “dissimilation”. He didn`t took into consideration that some words he took into relation to each other were no derivations of each other. But he always found more or less logical explanations why a word is originated in another that is resembling.
Summary of Chapters
INTRODUCTION: Provides an overview of the grammatical foundations laid in the 19th century and introduces the relationship between Sanskrit, Latin, and modern European languages.
1. LINGUISTICS BEFORE THE 19TH CENTURY: Traces the historical progression of linguistic thought from the ancient Greek and Roman grammarians through the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN STUDIES: Examines key scholars and their contributions to the establishment of comparative linguistics as a scientific discipline.
3. THE COMPARATIVE METHOD: Explains the principles of reconstructing ancestral languages, including the comparative method and its critical reception.
4. CLASSIFICATION OF THE SELECTED INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES: Details the classification and subgrouping of Germanic and Slavic languages, highlighting their historical expansion.
5. A COMPARISON OF ENGLISH AND SERBO-CROATIAN: Analyzes the phonetic, phonological, and morphological differences and similarities between English and Serbo-Croatian.
6. LINGUSITICS IN THE 20TH CENTURY: Discusses the shift toward structuralism and the influence of thinkers like Ferdinand de Saussure and Noam Chomsky.
Keywords
Indo-European, Comparative Linguistics, Phonetics, Morphology, English, Serbo-Croatian, Germanic Languages, Slavic Languages, Sound Laws, Historical Linguistics, Etymology, Syntax, Structuralism, Language Reconstruction, Grammar.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this academic work?
The work primarily explores the linguistic kinship and structural differences between a Germanic language (English) and a Slavic language (Serbo-Croatian) within the context of Indo-European linguistics.
What are the central thematic fields covered?
The text covers the historical evolution of linguistics, the development of comparative methods, the specific classification of language families, and a detailed contrastive analysis of English and Serbo-Croatian.
What is the primary research goal?
The author aims to investigate how two languages spoken in distinct regions of Europe, one Northern and one South-Eastern, share a common "ancestress" despite their modern differences.
Which scientific method is applied?
The study primarily utilizes the comparative method, employing sound reconstruction and linguistic analysis to trace potential etymological and structural connections between languages.
What does the main body of the work address?
The main body systematically investigates the development of linguistic studies, the evolution of Proto-Indo-European, and the specific phonological and morphological characteristics of English and Serbo-Croatian.
How is the work characterized by keywords?
It is characterized by terms such as Indo-European, Comparative Linguistics, Phonetics, Morphology, and Language Reconstruction, emphasizing its focus on comparative history.
What does the author conclude about the relationship between English and Serbo-Croatian?
The author concludes that while English and German are "sisters," English and Serbo-Croatian are best described as "cousins," indicating a deeper, yet more distant, shared historical connection.
What is the author's stance on the influence of borrowings?
The author observes that both languages have adapted many borrowings to their own systems, though English has exerted a notable influence on Serbo-Croatian, particularly in modern times, while reverse influence is less documented.
- Quote paper
- M.A. Tamara Olschewski (Author), 2000, Indo-European Linguistics - A study on the basic differences between a Germanic and and a Slavic language, exemplary presented on English and Serbo-Croatian, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1612